Category Archives: All Things Catholic

Death with Dignity

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Death with Dignity?
There is no dignity in dying.
It is dissolution,
Libation poured out,
The empty glass.

Dignity rests with the soul,
Persists, despite soiled garments,
Perseveres, midst death’s indignities.
It clothes the soul in hope.
Despite the tale the mirror tells.
Dignity confronts our demons.

It rises as limbs refuse us,
To fly free of earthly chains,
And contemplate the Face of God.
Copyright 2016 Joann Nelander

I Am Mud

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I am such a mess.
The rain falls on my soil,
And for a while I am mud.

No hint of fertility.
No hint of growth.
No hint of flowers.

Mud is self-forgetful,
A confusion of gift,
A profusion of promise.

The day will seed to my substance,
Serendipity and surprise,
Plantings for the morrow.

I shall lie here,
Loving my mud,
Waiting for the Sun.

© 2016 Joann Nelander

Keeper of My Soul

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I am because You are.
I will always be,
Because you create me for eternity.

Who can grasp the eternal soul?
Who but Man is spirit celestial,
Yet of this earth terrestrial?

What does it matter that I am matter,
Made for this world and Time,
Yet envisioning a paradise more sublime?

Where will I spend my forever?
Is it for nought,
That I seek to do as I ought?

You whisper at sunset,
In the glory of the evening sky,
Telling of Mystery hidden from the eye.

You dream of me, eternally.
You fire my spirit and my stuff.
Knowing earth is not enough.

When earth can no longer
Hold my soul,
Sign me in Your celestial scroll.

Write my name in Yours,
Jesus, protector from death infernal,
Jesus, keeper of my soul eternal.

© 2016 Joann Nelander

Entrustment

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I do not see myself.
Though I long for holiness of heart,
Of this world I am apart.

I do not know myself.
Though I keep Your Image before my eyes,
The world appears in angelic disguise.

I do not trust myself.
Though I choose Your way,
I fear to be led astray.

I do not save myself,
Though I’m broken and and far from Heaven,
You live in me as heavenly leaven.

You, I see and know,
And You, I trust.
To You, my soul, I, mightily, entrust.

 

© 2016 Joann Nelander